Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that his government has decided to start doorstep delivery of ration in the state.
While it is an optional scheme, the government officials will call Punjab’s residents and ask them for their preferred time slot. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tried to implement the same scheme in Delhi.

Notes:
As per the data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) crossed the 500-crore mark in terms of volume.
In March this year, UPI was close to touching the ₹10-lakh crore milestone in value terms in March this year. There were around 315 banks live on the UPI platform by March this year.

Notes:
A report by the World Wildlife Fund showed that the illegal online trade of wildlife is growing in Myanmar, which is seen as a threat both to public health and to endangered species.
The report found that enforcement of bans on such transactions has weakened amid political crisis following a 2021 military takeover. Out of the 173 species traded, 54 are threatened with global extinction. The animals included elephants, bears and gibbons, Tibetan antelope, critically endangered pangolins and an Asian giant tortoise.

Notes:
NASA and SpaceX are set to launch astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 is the fourth crew rotation mission that will carry an international crew of four astronauts on a science expedition. The mission will fly a new Crew Dragon spacecraft and will launch on a Falcon 9 booster. The spacecraft has been named “Freedom” by the Crew-4 astronauts.

Notes:
Haryana Agriculture Minister launched the portal of ‘Mukhya Mantri Bagwani Bima Yojana.’ Under this scheme, farmers will be compensated for the damage caused to their crops due to natural calamities.
21 crops including 14 vegetables, 2 spices and five fruits are covered under this scheme. As per the agriculture department, Rs 10 crore will be kept by the state government as initial capital for the scheme.

Notes:
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India’s merchandise exports rose to a record high of USD 418 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal.
The rise is due to the higher shipments of petroleum products, engineering goods, gems and jewellery and chemicals. India’s goods trade (exports and imports) crossed USD 1 trillion during 2021-22. India’s imports also touched an all-time high of USD 610 billion.

Notes:
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced that a plan is being developed to rehabilitate those people who migrated to neighbouring states during the Salwa Judum movement around 15 years ago.
Salwa Judum, an anti-Naxal operation powered by vigilante groups, was kicked off in 2005-06 in Bastar. It forced several tribals to flee and settle in neighbouring states.

Notes:
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh launched the “Mission Integrated Bio-refineries”, to accelerate innovation for renewable fuels, and chemicals for a low-carbon future.
It is a PPP (Public Private Participation) model initiative for ‘Clean Energy’. The scheme was soft launched by Dr Jitendra Singh in November 2021 at the COP26 side event at the Mission Innovation Annual Gathering.

Notes:
State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and ReNew Power have announced a joint venture (JV) company to develop the green hydrogen sector in India.
India plans to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. In February, the Centre launched the country’s first green hydrogen policy as part of its energy transition plan.

Notes:
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched “Prakriti”, mascot that spreads awareness about small changes in life that can curb plastic pollution.
It also highlights various green initiatives taken by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the country.